MINING RESIDUE IN THE COMMERCIAL LIMESTONE BLENDING AND THE CHEMICAL ATTRIBUTES OF A LATOSOL

Resumo

The limestone mining activity causes environmental impacts due to the generation of waste. However, the reuse of these residues has been investigated with the objective of improving soil fertility and acidity correction. The objective of this work was to evaluate the potential for using mining residues in the commercial limestone blending and in the chemical attributes of a dystrophic Red Yellow Latosol. The experiment was carried out in three steps: the first corresponded to the sampling and characterization of the residues in the tailings pile; the second was the combination and characterization of the new soil acidity correction agents as well as the selection of treatments based on the Neutralization Power and doses of soil acidity correction agetns (0.0; 0.5; 1.0; 2.0; 4.0 t ha^-1); in the third step, a test of the incubation and calibration of the application doses of the soil acidity correction agents was performed. It was found that even with the raise in the levels of Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ in the correction agents, it was not possible to provide an optimal supply of nutrients to the soil, a fact explained by the low constant solubility of CaCO₃ and MgCO₃. However, the commercial limestone blending with tailing was efficient, as it had a significant effect on raising the pH and neutralizing the soil moisture potential.